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Government Signs MoU with African Climate Foundation
By Gift Chiponde
Lilongwe, June 7, Mana: Secretary to the President and Cabinet (SPC), Colleen Zamba has hailed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between government and African Climate Foundation (ACF) for investment into climate adaptation saying it represents a significant step in acknowledging and addressing the impacts of climate change in the country.
She made the remarks during signing in ceremony of the MoU which took place at the Office of President and Cabinet (OPC) at Capital Hill in Lilongwe on Wednesday.
Zamba indicated that the signing of the MoU marks the beginning of partnership between the two parties in addressing issues of climate change.
In her address, Special Adviser of the ACF, Irene Karani conveyed the Foundation's gratitude and the warm reception received from the government of Malawi and the productive discussions that led to the signing of the MoU.
She highlighted ACF's commitment to collaborating with the Government and the private sector across the country to bolster the economy through climate change adaptation.
The MoU offers the opportunity for the country to develop investments in adaptation, resilience and build a strong and resilient economy in the face of climate change.
It will facilitate access to innovative investment mechanisms in climate change particularly enterprises across the country.
Notably, the AFC is an African-based climate-focused philanthropic organization and is backed by various global philanthropic funds.
COMSIP youths in a K800, 000 ‘bailout’
By Kondwani Magombo
Lilongwe, June 7, Mana: Members of the communities around Chivutwe Primary School in Mdwala Village in Dowa recently gathered at the school to join hundreds of learners in celebrating a ‘gift’ from the communities’ own youth to the school.
The gift comprised 65 desks renovated by a team of youths who are members of Community Savings and Investment Promotion (COMSIP) Cooperative Union Limited, and they’re benefiting from the Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project (SSRLP).
Under the leadership of COMSIP caseworker for the area, Rebecca Munthali, 16 COMSIP groups mobilized and contributed K50, 000 each for the renovation of the desks at Chivutwe School in Traditional Authority (TA) Dzoole B.
“These are groups whose members are beneficiaries of the government Social Protection Programme of Social Cash Transfer (Mtukula pakhomo), and the actual renovation of the desks was done by the youths that were trained in vocational skills by COMSIP, under Youth Skills Challenge Support (YSCS),” she explained.
According to Munthali, the project for the renovation of desks at Chivutwe Primary School was unanimously agreed by the 16 groups upon assessment of various projects that were proposed.
With a total of K800, 000 raised from the COMSIP groups, three COMSIP-trained carpenters from Hope Youth Cooperative led the renovation of the desks at Chivutwe Primary School, using metal frames from the broken desks.
The available cash was used for the procurement of other materials such as timber, nails glue, paint and wood varnish.
The desks renovation project was led by three YSCS fresh graduates from Hope COMSIP Youth Cooperative namely, Manesi Mikisoni and Christina Kafa, both from Mauni Cluster, and Conelio Chisowa from Nkhathwe Cluster.
To the three, execution of the work was more than putting the acquired skills to practice for perfection as it brought inner satisfaction to have done a service to a community institution.
“This is a task that I did with all my heart in it as a way of thanking COMSIP for everything that the organization has done to my life,” Chisowa said, who hails from Makwani Village, Group village Headman (GVH) Makwani, in TA Dzoole B.
The Father of three joined Mtukula Pakhomo in 2018 and, like many other youths in the 14 districts where SSRLP is being implemented across the country, he was among the first cohort of more than 700 youths who were enrolled under the YSCS programme in 2023.
The first cohort underwent vocational training of various skills from March to June 2023 before each participant got a starter-up package of tools for their particular vocation early December, and a financial boost from COMSIV Limited, a Finance subsidiary of COMSIP Cooperative Union Limited.
According to Chisowa, COMSIP is the reason he, and many youths under the Mtukula Pakhomo, are walking with their heads raised high, sneering at poverty.
“Our courtship with COMSIP began the moment we were enlisted in Mtukula Pakhomo: The organization mobilized us into village savings and loans (VSL) groups and inducted us on financial management,” he explained, he joined Mtukula Pakhomo in 2018.
Chisowa added that, “Regarding the vocational training, I got starter-up tools for carpentry and joinery vocation after graduating, and a loan of K250, 000 from the organization to get me kick-started and with these incentives, my life has completely transformed.”
The other two female carpenters, Mikisoni and Kafa, share similar achievements and they were happy to do their community such a noble service free of charge.
Mikisoni, a youthful mother of three, who hails from Mapondera Village, TA Dzoole B in the district said it had always been her desire to learn carpentry, an inspiration she got from her husband’s friends who are all carpenters.
The young woman’s journey with COMSIP also began in 2018 and she was included in the organization’s Legume Enterprise and Structured Production (LESP).
Mikisoni testifies that over the years, food security at her household has improved and she has the access to other basic needs.
“This year, I have managed to harvest five tonnes of maize, a huge leap from two to two and half trips of ox-carts which I used to harvest before COMSIP’s interventions,” she narrated adding she got a loan from the organization to boost her new trade.
“I got K250, 000 at first, which I used for procurement of planks and other required stuff, and I later on got an additional K90, 000, making a total of K340, 000, and this has enabled me to buy livestock and get my house wired, ready for power installation,” Mikisoni added.
The youth’s good gesture has left community leaders in the area beaming with pride that the youth they’ve raised and seen growing now have the capacity to contribute effectively to the communities they live in.
Cluster Facilitator Chair, Glamson Kachikonga, who was among those in the forefront during the conception and execution of the project, described the renovation of the 65 desks at Chivutwe School as a showcase of the skills that the youth had acquired under the YSCS programme.
“We’re on track in realizing COMSIP’s slogan of Titukule mabanja athu; Titukule dera lathu’ Titukule dziko lathu’ (Let’s develop our household, let’s develop our area, and let’s develop our country),” acknowledged the cluster facilitator, adding: “This demonstrates that we’re, somehow, somewhere regarding developing our households, and we are now developing our area.”
Similarly, Head teacher for the School, Kenneth Mphanda, and Primary Education Advisor for Zone, Francis Kaliati, were both at loss of words with what the COMSIP Cooperative Union members had done to Chivutwe Primary School.
Mphanda rated COMSIP as number one organization working in the area with outcomes that are too visible to ignore.
According to the Head teacher, Chivutwe Primary School, which was located in Mdwala Village, opened its doors in 1994 and, at some point, the school had 130 desks against an enrolment of over 500 learners.
As time passed by, out of the 130 desks, only 43 desks were usable while 87 desks were broken beyond use.
“Without necessarily seeming to be ungrateful, we need more desks and teachers’ houses at this school: COMSIP has demonstrated that it is possible for the community to do it,” the Head teacher said.
The PEA said COMSIP has nailed it by economically empowering a family, the first educational institution in the society, and that the renovation of the desks reveals that members of the community, who are often times deemed poor, have the potential to uplift livelihoods.
GVH Chivutwe summed the whole occasion as “phenomenal” and that COMSIP had revealed how rich members of the community could become if well mentored.
“I cannot believe that members of the community, among them my very own subjects, through their clusters, can achieve this using funds from their own pockets. This is what we call progress,” Chivutwe said.
COMSIP Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Tennyson Gondwe said it was satisfying that the youthful members of COMSIP Cooperative Union Limited Savings and Loan Groups were now able to give back to their communities.
He said what the youth clusters in Tchawale Zone had done was indicative of the ability to be self-reliant.
“As COMSIP, when we mobilize our members into village savings and loans groups; train the youth and give them starter-up tools and capital grants, we expect them to graduate from poverty and contribute to the development of their communities,” he explained.
“We are happy that the youths are now capable of standing on their own, and we are sure that during the next retargeting processes, they won’t mind being dropped to give room to others.”
IOM to help government in regulating labour migration
By Moses Nyirenda
Lilongwe, June 6, Mana: International Organization for Migration (IOM) has committed to supporting government in regulating issues of labour migration such promoting the welfare and human rights of Malawians working outside the country.
This comes as the government is exporting labour force to Israel on signed deal with Israel government.
IOM Immigration and Border Governance Programme Officer, Jeremiah Joshua told Malawi News Agency (Mana) Thursday in Lilongwe that as an organization they are responsible for supporting government in ensuring safety and consideration of human rights for Malawians working outside the country.
“We are responsible for making sure that while people must move to work outside the country, we guarantee safety and consideration of human rights as human beings, we guarantee that wherever people are going to work nobody should exploit them,” he said.
Joshua added that IOM was committed to working with private recruiting agencies in the country in order for them to follow proper guidelines when they are recruiting people to work outside the country.
Recently, IOM organized validation workshop for labour migration regulation which attracted officials from Ministry of Labour, private recruiters and other concerned parties for labour migration whereby among other things they discussed issues regarding orderly labor migration.
Principal Secretary (PS) for Ministry of Labour, Chikondano Mussa applauded IOM for its commitment to supporting government in regulating labor migration.
She said that as government their focus was to ensure that there was order as well as ethical employment for people who are working abroad.
“We want to have orderly as well as ethical employment and ensure that there is dignity for the workers and also their rights are being provided at work,” Mussa said.
She commended IOM for facilitating validation of labour migration regulation saying that the validation of labour migration regulation assisted to come up with regulations aimed at governing issues of labour migration in the country.
Africa Fire Mission trains Malawian fire officers
By George Bulombola
Mzuzu, June 6, Mana: Africa Fire Mission has said safety of both communities and fire officers should be ensured in responding to fire emergencies, hence the need for skilled and well trained personnel.
In an interview with Malawi News Agency (Mana) in Mzuzu on Thursday, Team Instructor of Africa Fire Mission, Frank Giovannelli said this during training of Mzuzu City Council Fire Brigade, Civil Aviation officers from Mzuzu and Karonga, on fire fighters’ and communities’ safety during fire emergencies.,
He said the training would facilitate experience sharing and knowledge building for enhanced response to fire accidents.
“We interact with various players who are involved in fire fighting accidents to so that we share experiences for us to appropriately serve communities,” Giovannelli said.
He said fire fighting requires well experienced leadership and coordinated efforts for safety for both fire fighters and those involved in the accident including property.
“We are appreciative to the government for allowing us to interact with our fellow professionals in fire fighting. The more we interact, the more knowledge we share,” the team Instructor added.
One of the Fire Officers at Mzuzu Airport, Francis Mkandawire said the training was important to the officers’ profession as it provided a platform through which they could acquire global knowledge in responding fire accidents.
Commenting on why, fire officers are in some cases blamed for responding late to fire accidents in Mzuzu City, he said that the respondent to fire accidents was the City Council and Civil Aviation only comes in as a back-up.
“The first point of call in time of fire accidents, is the council and our core duties are focused on aircrafts and our offices. The time they refer a case to us in most cases is late hence clients end-up pointing fingers at us,” Mkandawire elaborated.
Chief Fire Officer for Mzuzu City Council, Precious Mandala commended the mission for the initiative in enhancing capacity of fire brigades in Africa including Malawi through targeted trainings using locally available resources.
“This initiative will boost the officers’ confidence and improved expertise in responding to fire emergencies and other life threatening situations,” he said.
Mandala added that the engagement was insufficient without necessary equipment and appealed to stakeholders to invest in the fire industry to meet modern firefighting standards for effective service delivery.
Similar meetings are expected to be held in Lilongwe, Blantyre and Zomba City Councils.
Africa Fire Mission which is based in Cincinnati in United States of America, was founded by Nancy and Davie Moore in 2012 and among others, it provides Fire Departments across Africa with equipment and training for safety of firefighters and communities.
Flames beat Sao Tome 3-1
By Tione Andsen
Lilongwe, June 6, Mana: Malawi National Team, the Flames Thursday posted a second win in Group H of World Cup qualifiers after beating Sao Tome 3-1 at Bingu National Stadium in Area 48, Lilongwe before a sizeable crowd.
Flames first won their opening game against Liberia 1-0 in Monrovia before suffering a home defeat against Group H leaders, Tunisia 0-1 in Lilongwe.
Malawi has six points from three games. third on the log with Tunisia on top with nine points while Namibia are second with seven points
On Wednesday Namibia and Liberia settled for a 1-1 draw in Windhoek.
Flames went into lead barely five minutes into the game, when Chawanangwa Kaonga rounded off Sao Tome central defender, Adjakson Ramos before slotting the ball home after receiving an inviting pass from Chifundo Mphasi.
Four minutes later, Malawi could have stretched the lead but Robert Saizi’s effort was saved by Sao Tome goalkeeper, Pedro Mateus.
Flames left winger, Langesi Nkhoma made it 2-0 after 13 minutes when Sao Tome goalkeeper, Mateus had fumbled Mphasi’s powerful shot.
Two minutes later, Sao Tome nearly pulled one back when defender, Ronaldo Afonso header was brilliantly saved by Flames custodian George Chikooka, in his maiden call up.
Flames coach, Patrick Mabedi was forced to rest injured Saizi for Patrick Mwaungulu in the 34th minute then three minutes later Sao Tome introduced Mauro Vilhete for Nuno Malheiro.
With three minutes to break, Substitute Mwaungulu could have put his name on the score sheet when his effort went begging after being put through by Chimwemwe Idana.
Both teams went into recess with Malawi leading 2-0 to the excitement of the partisan crowd at the stadium.
The second half saw a changed Sao Tome side and they were able to control the ball and started penetrating into the flames half which saw their defender, Ramos heading over the bar from a corner kick after 50 minutes.
Idana had his long range effort went wide after brilliant inter passes which involved Mphasi, Nkhoma and Tatenda M’balaka.
On hour mark, Mphasi connected Nkhoma’s cross but his connection hit the upright when Sao Tome goalkeeper, Mateus was completely beaten.
Both teams made substitution, Nkhoma went out for Wisdom Mpinganjira while the visitors brought in Sergio Male for Rogerio Fernandes after 64 minutes.
Sao Tome pulled one back in the 66th minute when S8 hard and low drive went past Flames Custodian, Chikooka to make 2-1.
Malawi came twice in the 71st and 75th minutes respectively when Mpinganjira blasted over the bar and Mphasi had his shot from close range saved goalkeeper, Mateus.
With only 13 minutes to regulation time, Mphasi increased the lead to 3-1 after being put through by Kaonga.
The was triple changes for Sao Tome in the 83rd minute when they brought in Joao Silva, Edmilson Viegas, Elias Varela for Ramos, Adjeil Neves and Ebanilson Viegas and Malawi rested Kaonga, Mphasi, Idana for Henri Kumwenda, Zeliat Nkhoma and Chikondi Kamanga.
Flames coach, Mabedi thanked Flames supporters for supporting the team throughout the game saying they played their role effectively.
“We started very slow but it was pleasing that we managed to score early goals. We could have score more goals in this game,” he said.
“Malawi is a very strong team. We had 10 percent chances of winning the game before kickoff but during we dropped to two percent and we gave away quick goals,” Sao Tome coach, Ricardo Monsanto said.
He said his charges played well in the last 75 minutes but Malawi was good in their counter attacks.
Malawi National Team will face Equatorial Guinea in Malabo on Tuesday in their fourth Group H encounter.
Chilima optimistic of Korea-Africa summit benefits
By Andrew Mkonda in Seoul, Korea
Seoul, June 6, Mana: Vice President Dr Saulos Chilima is optimistic that Malawians will soon see the benefit of Korea-Africa Summit which President Dr Lazarus Chakwera delegated him to attend.
Speaking to the media at the end of the Summit, Chilima disclosed that there will be several immediate low-hanging fruits that will be realized from the two-day summit.
Chilima cited trade and agriculture agreements, among others, signed between Malawi and Korea, which will see increased production of agricultural produce for the export market.
According to Chilima, the summit which attracted more than 50 heads of state and government, was worth for countries such as Malawi to attend.
Among other engagements in Korea, the Vice President had an audience with Korean Prime Minister, Dr Han Duck Soo.
He also had talks with former United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, who now heads the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), an intergovernmental organization supporting and promoting sustainable economic growth in developing countries, currently, with 48 member states.
Chilima also had an interaction with Malawians living in South Korea on a number of developmental issues.
Dr Chilima has since left for Malawi and is expected to arrive back home Sunday.
Good Neighbors donates K166 million items to KK flood survivors
By Innocent Chunga
Nkhotakota, June 6, Mana: Good Neighbors International Organization has donated relief items worth K166 million to 1,500 households affected by floods in the area of Senior Chief Kanyenda in Nkhotakota district.
Speaking Wednesday during the distribution exercise, Data Monitoring and Evaluation Manager for Good Neighbors, Wiseman Nkhoma, said they felt it was necessary to come in and support the survivors as one way of assisting government in times of disaster.
Nkhoma said they are hoping that the items will help overcome some of the survivors' challenges as they are waiting to rebuild their communities.
"We have supported various items including maize flour, mosquito nets, Likuni phala, cooking oil, soya pieces and salt as part of the organization's response to the devastating floods that happened here," said Nkhoma.
Principal Disaster Preparedness Officer for the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA), Edwin Zawanda, described the support as timely but asked for more support from various partners to assist those who are still in the camps in the district.
Nkhotakota District Council Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, John Manda, said the Council is engaging traditional leaders on the issue to decommission all camps in the district.
"We have three camps; Chikupweche, Mtupi and Katimbira. The council is still engaging traditional leaders and other stakeholders in order to find proper measures to decommission all the camps in the district," said Manda.
According to DoDMA, floods that occurred in February this year affected over 14,000 people, displaced about 10,000 and claimed eight lives in the area of Senior Chief Kanyenda in the district.
Chiradzulu council commended for improving governance, service delivery
By Blackson Mkupatira
Chiradzulu, June 6, Mana: National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) Budget Analyst, Jonathan Banda, has commended Chiradzulu District Council for making significant improvements in governance and service delivery.
The council's Local Authority Performance Assessment (LAPA) score has risen from 49 percent in 2022 to 63 percent in 2023, enabling it to qualify for a K377, 412,616 Performance Based Grant under the World Bank funded Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) Project.
Speaking at the LAPA results dissemination meeting on Wednesday, Banda said Chiradzulu District Council has performed extremely well in contract management and project implementation, access to information, procurement management, scoring a perfect 100 percent in each, which is commendable and worthy noting.
Banda acknowledged the council's remarkable score of 87 percent in agriculture service delivery and average scores in budget execution, finance management, health and education. However, he was quick to say that there was room for more improvement.
“Other areas we would like to see the council improve on are; local revenue mobilization, audit and addressing audit issues, development planning and budgeting and financial reporting," Banda added.
He, therefore, advised the council to fully prepare for the next LAPA so that it continues to progress to qualify for more funding for developmental projects in a bid to provide better services to residents of the district.
Chiradzulu District Commissioner, Francis Matewere, expressed satisfaction with the council's progress, noting that Chiradzulu moved up five steps in the LAPA rankings from 26 to 21 despite being a relatively ‘minor’ council.
Matewere added that for the first time in history, Chiradzulu has attained a clean audit opinion, which is no mean achievement as it shows that its financial statements were clean and that it is managing its finances prudently.
“We have performed well; yes, but the goal is to reach 100 percent. So, I will be holding meetings at different managerial levels to see how best we can strategize to improve in the areas that we did not do well,” he said.
Chiradzulu District Council Chief Education Officer, Gertrude Maliko, lamented that the district receives inadequate funding and does not have enough development partners to meet all education performance indicators, many of which, require substantial resources.
Maliko, therefore, appealed to the assessment team to take such factors into consideration, saying some councils have unique challenges.
‘Invest in children for sustainable environmental conservation’ – authorities
By Martin Chiwanda & Charlie Ligomeka
Machinga, June 6, Mana: Machinga District Director of Education, Youth and Sports, Nellie Kamtedza, has stressed the need for community leaders to start teaching children about the importance of conserving the environment so that they grow up with a responsible mind.
Kamtedza made the call on Wednesday during the commemoration of World Environmental Day at Kamwendo Primary School which was hosted by NACALA Logistics formerly Central East African Railways (CEAR), Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi (WESM) and African Parks.
She said, as the future belongs to the young ones, there is need for all stakeholders in environmental conservation to start thinking of inculcating in children a spirit of environmental management for them to be more responsible in future.
“Stakeholders in the environmental conservation sector have tried to pump sense in adults on the importance of natural resources and how they can conserve them but they seem not to care.
“Therefore, we need to invest more in the young ones as they understand the importance of conserving natural resources. This is the reason we chose Kamwendo Primary School apart from being close to Liwonde National Park.
“We thought of teaching these children and the whole community on how we can restore and conserve the environment,” said Kamtedza.
Liwonde National Park Environmental Education Officer, Susan Chimbadza, said the organization decided to commemorate the day with learners to help them understand more on issues they learn through wildlife clubs about the beauty of nature.
“Raising awareness with the learners is a very important undertaking. We know they are in wildlife clubs and, therefore, we want them to showcase and replicate what they have been learning into the community,” Chimbadza said.
Machinga District Coordinator for WESM, Daniel Nkunga, said failing to conserve and restore natural resources in the country has brought several climate change challenges ranging from droughts and flooding.
Nkunga observed that children and the youth are supposed to be involved in environmental management in order to effectively mitigate effects of climate change in the future.
“Malawi is facing a lot of climate change issues which are negatively affecting the citizens. Some of these problems are unpredictable rainfall pattern, drought and floods.
“The country’s environment has also been heavily degraded. I am happy that there have been several efforts to reverse the trend in deforestation. We will continue to encourage people in the district to manage and conserve the environment,” he added.
Neno Dorcas women feed patients at Neno District Hospital
By Salome Gangire
Neno, June 6, Mana: Neno Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church Dorcas Women on Wednesday cheered and shared food with patients at Neno District Hospital.
According to Shepardess Nancy Zidana the women extended the gesture to the patients as part of activities commemorating community service emphasis week, where they do a number of charitable activities in their communities.
“Today, we have provided food to the patients from female, male and paediatric wards as one way of showing love and compassion to the sick as commanded by Jesus Christ in Matthew 25: 31-45,” Zidana said.
Zidana said Dorcas women are replicating the works of Dorcas in the Bible who was doing charity works, feeding and clothing the poor and the sick.
She said the whole of this week, they have been engaged in a number of charity activities as they also shared food with suspects in holding cells at Neno Police Station, swept surroundings of Neno Police formation and cleaned offices, swept Chikonde market and primary school, respectively.
“We are also cheering women and people in need in our communities where we are donating clothes, food and also praying with them,” she said.
Zidana said all the initiatives have been made possible by donations from Dorcas women who contributed money and resources to carry out the charitable activities.
Neno District Hospital Nursing Officer, Martha Kutsamba, thanked the women for the generosity to the patients and sharing the word of encouragement.
One of the beneficiaries, Tadala Mwangala, thanked the women for the food provided to them, saying the nutritious food will complement the medication they are receiving at the hospital.
“I am grateful for the food we have received today which will make a difference in our lives. The visit has assured us of God’s love and presence,” Mwangala said.
Community service week was launched on June 1 at Balaka Stadium. During this week, Adventists are involved in a number of public services following the method of Jesus to bring help and hope through the ministry of compassion.
